Tell City swears in three new reserve police officers

Tell City swore in three new reserve police officers, adding volunteer sworn help to a department that already splits its time between patrol, school safety and community policing across Perry County. Mayor Chris Cail administered the oath, and the reserve division describes those officers as community volunteers who hold a law-enforcement role for the city.

Tell City police identified the new reserves as Dale Peter, Andrew Williams and Lucas Bryant. The officers had completed the Indiana Pre-Basic Law Enforcement Academy and were set to enter the department’s Field Training Program, a step that puts them on a path toward taking on real duties instead of remaining on the sidelines.

For a small department, reserve staffing can matter in ways residents notice. More sworn people on the roster can improve coverage when patrol officers are committed elsewhere, give the city more flexibility for public events and help spread the workload across a department that also has to cover daily calls, school-related assignments and community-facing work. Tell City’s employment page says the department is looking for dedicated, professional and community-minded people committed to serving with integrity and excellence, language that fits a force that relies on both full-time and reserve help.

The department’s broader public-safety structure already includes a Patrol Division and a School Resource Officer program. It also runs the Tell City Citizens Police Academy, founded in 2017 and sponsored by Tell City Home Mutual Insurance, as a no-cost 10-week fall program. Another outreach effort, AWARE, was created in 2021 by the Avon Police Department to build awareness of cognitive disabilities and medical-related impairments and improve de-escalation.

The staffing context in Tell City carries added weight after Sgt. Heather J. Glenn, 47, was shot and killed July 3, 2023, while attempting to arrest a domestic violence suspect at Perry County Memorial Hospital. The city maintains an in memoriam page for Glenn, and the Perry County Sheriff’s Office has also partnered with Tell City police on efforts such as National Night Out and the Citizens Police Academy.